Since the start of the 2024 soccer calendar, players and fans have fought the crisis of a bloated schedule. A club like Manchester City will effectively play a nonstop schedule in 2024/25. That includes the Premier League, two domestic cups (FA Cup and League Cup), UEFA Champions League, FA Community Shield, and friendlies across the […]
Since the start of the 2024 soccer calendar, players and fans have fought the crisis of a bloated schedule. A club like Manchester City will effectively play a nonstop schedule in 2024/25. That includes the Premier League, two domestic cups (FA Cup and League Cup), UEFA Champions League, FA Community Shield, and friendlies across the United States. That amounts to roughly 63 games in one year, depending on how deep the team goes into the cup competitions.
Such a widespread issue does not have one culprit. All governing bodies for soccer, from domestic to international levels, are culpable for this new pandemic of games.
Looking across the globe, there have been competitions that are secondary in the pecking order that create more games. These tournaments, which often include every team in a league, are different from traditional domestic or international cups.
Too many games, too many competitions for players
In the United States, the US Open Cup is the oldest domestic soccer competition. That did not stop Major League Soccer from expanding the Leagues Cup in 2023 with each team in MLS along with all Liga MX clubs. In England, the FA Cup is historically significant. However, there is also the EFL Cup, or Carabao Cup based on sponsorship reasons, that includes all teams in the top four divisions.
Even FIFA wanted to make more out of its Club World Cup. Rather than a representative from each of the six confederations, the 2025 Club World Cup, the tournament in the United States will have 32 teams.
It does not stop there. The number of new competitions added to various soccer schedules is diverse. This…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/soccer-scheduling-crisis-whos-to-blame/
Author : Kyle Fansler
Publish date : 2024-09-26 19:04:25
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